


It Gets Even Better

by Lets_Get_Dramatic



Series: To There and Back [2]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Advice Welcome, Estrangement, F/M, Governments being a thing that exist, Magic Reveal, Maybe - Freeform, People (not the protagonists) getting stuff done, Plotting, Reconciliation, Should I have written this?, The dubious sequel, alright, so the protagonists do some stuff too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-30
Updated: 2016-09-21
Packaged: 2018-08-12 01:24:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7914943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lets_Get_Dramatic/pseuds/Lets_Get_Dramatic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur isn't pleased. (It turns out Merlin has magic and a backstory and is a great big liar.) Merlin isn't pleased. (His execution might be imminent and some rather old wounds have recently been re-opened.) Gwaine isn't pleased. (There's idiocy in the air, he can smell it.)</p><p>In short, nobody's happy, and nor will they be if they don't sit down a talk.</p><p>Yikes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. We're Getting Ready

**Author's Note:**

> Right, so my computer's glitched twice already trying to get this thing up. So I'm going to put up this very incomplete chapter and edit it to my liking, then worry about the next chapter in maybe another week or so. (There's going to be four total this time).

Arthur's head persisted in spinning for the rest of the way back to the castle. It all started to blur at some point, with anger seeping into the swirls. Anger at what, Arthur couldn't say. Well, lies, definitely, but which ones? It didn't matter, he thought. When he got to his room, he slammed to door open and demanded of the empty air,

"How could he?" Only to find that the 'empty air' wasn't so empty. Gwen rose from her desk, concerned.

"How could he what? And who is he?" Arthur flushed. Surprise rudely pushed aside his assured anger.

"Merlin," He said, making a play a deftness.

"Done the laundry wrong, or something?" Gwen asked, some worry slipping off her. Arthur hesitated, considering taking the opportunity to lie. He didn't want to bother her, had never intended to, but he desperately wanted to talk to her. Feeling a little guilty, he shook his head as he sat down on the bed. He breathed. Gwen's face creased.

"Is he alright?"

Arthur snorted, but then the words spilled out.

"I don't know! It seemed like he might be- from what we were shown he seemed to be okay, or at least better, but he was so shaken afterwards I can't be sure, and anyway what do I know about that? I have to be told when someone close to me is hurting and even then I don't know what to do and Merlin certainly never said anything, and is anyone, anyone at all really telling me everything? Is there one stupid person in this entire kingdom who really thinks I can be trusted? Or who genuinely just cares, no strings or exceptions or ifs or buts. For anyone! Not necessarily for me, but is that possible between any two people, or is that just a fairy tale, like love at first sight which is never complicated by differences or bad times? Or is it just me? What was going through _your_ head, Gwen, when you kissed Lancelot?" Here Arthur looked up at her, her face full confusion mixed with pain that came from his last question. Gwen was silent.

A heartbeat, an eternity later, she sat next to him.

"I don't know what I was thinking," She said softly, "For me, it was so strange. It was like not only couldn't I think, but I couldn't feel. I would never betray you of my own free will, but that...It was almost like it wasn't my will." Arthur stared at her, not sure if he believed. He shook his head.

"It was Merlin's free will," He said.

"Did Merlin betray you?" Gwen asked. Arthur paused.

"...Not...He's not who I thought he was, who he lead me to believe he was."

"Who is he?" Arthur looked away again.

"He's a sorcerer. He used to be a King, as a child, and was overthrown. He had to run, and it cost his sister her life. Then he met Hunith and she took him in. He was practically suicidal from grief, and a fortuneteller sorceress told him he would find his redemption. Then he met me and thought I was that redemption. But after falling in love with a girl- whom I killed!- and watching Lancelot die, he started to reconsider. And I think he only sees me as a friend and king now, but I'm honestly still a little overwhelmed." He risked another look at Gwen. Her patient, let-me-help face had fallen away. Incredulity had taken its place.

"Run that by me again."

.........

Merlin laid down into bed. He didn't feel anything. He didn't think of anything. It was just easier not to. Maybe, come morning, he would be dragged from bed to the public square for his execution. Then he would never have to think or feel anything ever again. Maybe he wouldn't even have to wait for morning.

He wasn't in the best mindset, that he could recognize. He didn't think. He didn't feel. Eventually, he fell asleep.

.........

He woke to a cup of tea by his bed. Merlin sat up, folding his legs, and took the still-warm tea into his hands. It tasted sweet, though it also felt like a light drink. Green tea, he guessed. Only then did Merlin realise that Gauis hadn't seen fit to wake him for his duties. He almost threw off the covers then to leave and ask, but the memories of the previous day set in. He plopped backwards into the bed. Merlin stared at the ceiling.

By and large, he thought he had managed to handle the problems of the his past well. He wasn't suicidal, not anymore anyway. He had made his peace with Freya's death. He understood his mistakes as a child but they no longer controlled his life. But the dryad had thrown him for a loop.

Emrys hadn't known about Jac. He hadn't known about all the things Lynne had done to look after their people. Hadn't known how far she had been willing to go to keep him safe. It disturbed him, a bit. Not in the least because he could easily see him doing the same in her position.

Which led him the next problem. How was Arthur reacting? The previous day, Arthur had stared at him in...horror? Disgust? Shock, most certainly. Arthur had then wrenched his gaze away and started walking back, not addressing Merlin or Gwaine, firmly ignoring them both. He gave no direction and no objection when Gwaine had helped him up and started towards the castle. Gwaine also hadn't said much, but he had made sure Merlin got to Gaius' door and asked him if he would be okay. Merlin had nodded, he thought. Gwaine was, or probably would be, okay with the sudden revelations.

But Gwaine didn't have the power to have him executed for those revelations. Merlin rubbed his forehead. Arthur hadn't sent any word yet of what was to happen to him, but Merlin didn't want to sit here all day waiting. Now he did swing himself off the bed and got dressed. He might as well do his chores until Arthur said otherwise.

Maybe it would be best to avoid Arthur's presence for now, though.

.........

Gwaine dropped off Merlin, then swung by the barracks. He tossed a small a rock onto one of the large rocks sleeping there.

"Percival!" Percival stirred, glaring at Gwaine for disturbing his rest. "Sword practice." Percival nodded, rolling out of bed. Gwaine smirked to himself, darting off to the courtyard.

Percival came out a few minutes, glancing at the sky in confusion.

"Gwaine? What time is it?"

"It's not so late. Maybe eleven o'clock."

"Why in all sanity do we need to practice our swords work at eleven o'clock?" To Percival's credit, he didn't sound even slightly testy. Gwaine smiled in response.

"We don't need to, but I want to clear my thoughts," Gwaine said. Any serious physical practiner could expound on the relaxing effects of pushing yourself. Worst case scenario, you push yourself hard enough that your thoughts simplify to "rest" and "water" and "food". And even those kinds of thoughts could grant perspective. Best case scenario, your gained the headspace to really think, you felt good, and you had more energy than before. Gwaine thought if he could achieve the latter, he would then head off to a pub. Familiar haunts also helped keep things in perspective. It reminded Gwaine that not everything was different from the night before. Which, if he was honest, he suspected was the root of the biggest danger for him in this affair. That he would blow this out of proportion, and take what he didn't know about Merlin's life to be representative of what he didn't know of the world. And that would cause him to panic.

Thankfully, Percival was a good sport and agreed to bout.

Twenty minutes later and Gwaine felt relaxed. This he knew and this he loved. Dodging below a blow, cutting up, and taking steps that were almost part of a dance. It was rhythmic. It was instinctive. And his thoughts started to flow another direction, body on autopilot. 

He hoped Merlin was going to be okay. It could be a nasty thing to have your secrets ripped open in front of an audience like that. Hell, there was no 'could be' about it. While Gwaine was sure that Arthur would come around eventually (if not, he would just have to knock some sense into him) but he would probably need time to get over his prejudice of sorcery. And his fear of liars, equal to traitors in his mind.  Gwaine could give him a week, maybe. He suspected Merlin would need this matter resolved quickly. Though, he would need to talk to them about what they wanted and needed.

.........

A month later and everything hung in a limbo. Still. It drove Gwaine crazy. Merlin had avoided Arthur, and Arthur hadn't said anything about what Merlin's status was to be- accepted of killed or anything in between. He just acted as if Merlin didn't exist and never had. The other knights were too nervous to ask Arthur, and Merlin just shrugged. Gwaine didn't say anything out of respect for Merlin's privacy.

However, he had talked to Merlin about it. He had been surprised to be realize that some of the information the witch had shown them was new to Merlin, too. Now that he was actually thinking, not all, or even most, of the memories had been from Merlin's perspective. Moreover, he had been right. This suspended neither-nor cut into Merlin's spirit, and he became increasingly twitchy as time passed.

The only other person he suspected of knowing about this strange affair was-

"Gwaine, can I borrow a minute of your time?"

Well, speak of the devil. Gwen.

.........

"He's being an idiot"

"Thank you for saying it, You Majesty. I might get beheaded if I said that. I take it you have a plan?"

"Of course."


	2. We're Getting Set

Night hadn’t yet fallen, which Arthur supposed was a small blessing. That said, the forest remained large and looming, dark and drab. Arthur had always thought of the forest that surrounded Camelot as a light place. Not that it couldn’t hold dangers, but it was navigable, easy to see in, and could shield his forces as easily any opponent. If anything, the forest had been a neutral space.

Arthur trudged forward, just ahead of Gwen.  She hadn’t given a reason for why he needed to go into the forest, without any of his guard.

“Trust me, you need this,” She had said.

Arthur really wouldn’t be able to bring himself to surprise if this turned out to be yet another trap of some sort. It was concentrated foolishness to go to a place unknown, with only one person, who could easily be enchanted. It wasn’t like he could tell the difference.

However, the alternative meant always distrusting those around him. Which would be the smart thing to do, if his experience was anything to go by. But Arthur wanted to trust people.

Gwen pulled him out of his thoughts by pulling on his sleeve.

“Just to the right.” Arthur allowed her to steer him into a clearing about the size of a room.  With fewer trees, the light came through a bit stronger.

Gwaine was there. With Merlin.  They sat facing each other, although they looked up when Arthur and Gwen arrived. Merlin’s eyes widened in shock and he tensed up. Gwaine looked bored. Arthur could guess who had had a hand in today’s events.  He hissed under his breathe, to Gwen’s amusement.

“Come on,” She said, pulling him towards them even as Merlin looked like he wanted to flee. Arthur would have been more than happy to let him. Instead, Gwen pulled him onto the ground; Gwaine scooted over so that Arthur ended up sitting across for Merlin, with Gwen and Gwaine on either side. Merlin stared at Arthur, nervous.

“So,” Gwaine began, “Merlin. You have magic.” Merlin shifted his gaze over to Gwaine but said nothing. It didn’t take more than twenty seconds before Gwaine’s patience ran out. “How did you come by that?” Merlin remained quiet for a few seconds more, giving the impression he would just wait them all out. When he did speak, it was clipped.

“Magic runs in families- I inherited from my birth mother.”Gwaine nodded.

“What kinds-“

“Excuse me,” Arthur interrupted him, “Why are we here? Specifically, why am I here?”

“Because you are trying to ignore a problem that wouldn’t even be a problem if you would just address it,” Gwen said promptly, as if his question had been her cue card. “Because you’re abandoning a friendship, maybe a broken one, but one that is fully capable of repair.”  Gwaine nodded.

Merlin twitched throughout the exchange.

Gwaine redirected his attention to Merlin.

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

Merlin shrugged.

“It was a secret. The whole point is that you don’t tell people.” He fiddled with some blades of grass.

“I wasn’t sure Arthur would take it well, that he wouldn’t just have me executed. If he even believed me.”

“I’m not going to have you executed!” Arthur tried to squash the agitation in his voice. To execute someone for bringing him into their confidence was…betrayal (repulsive). Done by other people.

Merlin’s hands dropped still. Arthur realized he had spoken in the present tense, not the “would in this situation”.

Well. It was still true.

When the silence started to linger, Gwen asked him,

“Do you want to fire him then?” Arthur spluttered.

“He’s a useless manservant who’s useless! He-“ Arthur rarely floundered, but rarely isn’t never. Gwen raised her eyebrows. “No, I don’t want to fire him.” He felt dissatisfied. Merlin studied him, hands twisting around a twig he had picked up. But he didn’t look as nervous as before.

“I’m sorry,” Merlin said, soft, “For whatever it’s worth, I didn’t like lying to you. And I don’t have any other secrets.” Arthur studied him in turn, trying to gage his sincerity before shaking his head.

“That’s the thing about lying, though, isn’t it? It shows that a person’s word alone isn’t enough. You can say it’s fine, but afterwards there’ll be that doubt, whatever else is said, that they don’t mean it. That’s…the nature of broken trust. I can’t just believe anymore based on your word alone.”

Merlin hesitated.

“It doesn’t have to be on my word alone,” He said. Arthur scoffed.

“Have someone to back you up?”  Merlin shook his head.

“I know a truth spell. I could cast it on myself, if you like.” Now Arthur paused.

“How do I know that it’s really a truth spell? Or that you’ll have cast it properly?” He said, trying to seal any loopholes that a lie could slip through.

……

Merlin trudged into his room. He had spent hours in the forest with Gwaine and Gwen and Arthur, trying to explain. In order for Arthur to be sure the truth spell was really a truth spell, and that Merlin was casting it correctly, he had to understand how a truth spell _worked_ , and in order to understand how a truth spell worked, he had to understand how _magic_ worked. Merlin knew some magical theory, courtesy of a childhood in a magical normative environment, some books, and Kilgharrah, but his mental library was hardly exhaustive. Even had he been an expert, he suspected there still would be somethings he didn’t understand. Where explanations failed, demonstrations had to make do.

Eventually, Arthur felt he had a basic, but real, comprehension as to the methods of magic, and he accepted the truth spell.

The truth spell Merlin had placed on himself was based on intent to deceive, not whether what he said was technically fact. It meant mistakes could slip out, unnoticed by the spell, but even the smallest gesture to hide something would be prevented. Lies of omission, not allowed. Staring at the sky to get Arthur to do so, so he could slip out, not allowed.

The conversation hadn’t lasted too much longer after the spell was cast. It had been getting late, and everyone was tired. Arthur had asked a few perfunctory questions (Do you intend harm for Camelot? Me? Alright, good night Merlin, see you in the morning). Merlin was grateful. Exhaustion coursed through him and he fell asleep not long after falling into bed.

…….

Arthur felt much better when he went to bed that night. Merlin didn’t seem so distant (or so sinister) and he felt he had managed some reasonable assurance that no lies of that magnitude would becoming towards him again. At least not from Merlin. It was a…. safe feeling. One that he wasn’t used to having so soon after a lie reveal.

Gwen didn’t seem to agree. All day, she had been the picture of calm and reason. Clarifying things, but mostly just letting Arthur and Merlin talk. (Gwaine had done the same, but that had felt so unusual that Arthur thought he would just ignore that. Gwaine had, after all, been mostly there for Merlin, as far as Arthur could tell.) Now, however, Gwen’s face was crinkled in worry and she paced back and forth.

Gwen typically preferred a bit of time to give her problems a whirl on her own before considering any help. They had had a long talk about different coping and problem solving mechanisms on one occasion.

About half an hour later, Gwen sat down on the bed.

“Magic isn’t a force of evil,” She said. Arthur opened his eyes.

“No?” Even if that had been a bone-deep conviction of his before (which it hadn’t) then four hours of magical theory had washed that idea away from him.

“Arthur,” Gwen said, “We’re going to have to change the laws.” Arthur frowned.

“I suppose so, yes,” His thoughts started kicking up, “But what are we going to change them to? I’m a little uneasy about abolishing magic restraining laws outright.” Gwen nodded.

“Not evil, but certainly powerful, and unevenly spread. And after decades of persecution, more than a few of those powerful people are bound to hold grudges,” She took a breathe, “And I don’t think anyone in living memory has known a time when Camelot has allowed magic, and how it was governed at that time. We need to find out how other kingdoms have managed magic, recently.”

“But who could we-“ Arthur cut himself off with realization. “Oh. That could be a worthwhile trip.”

……..

Merlin got up early, to set up so Arthur would be ready for the day. He was back as a manservant. An awful job, but for whatever reason he found he didn’t like giving it up. This good mood was disturbed, but not foiled, by Arthur already being awake.

“Merlin,” He said when Merlin walked in, pausing to gather his nerves, “How do you feel about returning to your old kingdom?”


	3. We're Going

Convincing Merlin hadn’t been hard. He had, after all, been planning to visit his sister’s grave at some point in the uncertain future. He just hadn’t expected it to be so soon.

It might have taken an hour to override latent fears and anxieties.

They travelled light and fast. A letter had been sent to Merlin’s old kingdom (Cymru) and arrived before them. It didn’t leave much room for them to refuse, only prepare. Arthur came as a King and ambassador. Gwaine and two others were his guard. Merlin his servant. Gwen and the rest of the knights had stayed behind to run Camelot in their absence.  

So now here they were standing in the middle of a bustling street, just outside a small palace that Merlin and Helena had once lived in. People shouted, selling wares, children ran underfoot, and for all appearances it was a lively market.

Arthur couldn’t help notice the cracks in the image.

Adults, even bartering, kept a sharp eye on all of their surroundings. Despite the loud volume of the vendors, out of place noises would have most people twitching, jumping to attention. The buildings were different from Merlin’s memories. More ruined. Recent repair glazed over much of it, giving some buildings a Frankenstein look, but holes still existed in some walls, like they had been hit by a canon. Scorch marks littered the place.

Cymru had more Lot’s neighbor than Uther’s, had never really been a threat. Camelot hadn’t ever concerned itself with Cymru and didn’t have much in way of records for what had been happening there for the past few decades.

Arthur would bet half his treasury Cymru’s past ten years hadn’t been spent codifying the precise manners of tea time.

Lost in thought, he almost didn’t notice when the gates opened up. A guard walked out, doing his best not to look harried, and said,

“Your Highness, King Arthur of Camelot, the nation of Cymru welcomes you! We appreciate your hurry-“ Liar, Arthur thought, this is a bother at best- “We apologize for making you wait. The parliament will see you now.” Arthur nodded with all the regality he could muster, glancing quickly at Gwaine and Merlin. They promptly made themselves scarce. They had only stayed this far to make sure Arthur got to the palace safely. They had agreed on this the day before, not wanting to risk bringing Merlin into court (or parliament) and having him recognized. 

Arthur walked into the palace with his two guards. The guard led him down a long straight hallway before stopping in front of two colossal doors. Arthur reckoned they were four times his height. The guard signaled to the doormen, who opened the doors in synch.

Arthur entered the old throne room, where court used to be held. He almost didn’t recognize it at first. It had been redone, so that a hundred people could be seated and peer down at the center of the room. Much of the decoration had been redone, the gold trimmed, the statues and painting gone. Instead, a single banner hung above the seats directly facing Arthur.

Every seat was filled. The people dressed in a kind of faux fashion, trying to look fine but not possessing the materials to do so. Most of them were men. One of the few women hadn’t even bothered with trying to look fine, and clothes were barely better than rags.

Arthur regarded the parliament as the parliament regarded him.

“King Arthur,” A spokesperson, a middle aged to elderly man said. “Welcome. My name is Alwyn. If you’ll allow us to be concise,” A slight edge entered his voice at those words but quickly covered up, “what are you doing here? Cymru has no history or shared interest with Camelot.” Arthur nodded, gathering himself.

“True, but the time has come for that to change, and for the better I think. I wanted to extend a hand of friendship to Cymru personally.” His brief introduction was met with stony faces. Silent stony faces, which didn’t tell Arthur anything about how they wanted to proceed.  Time to allow them the floor for some time. “First, and believe me I’m sorry I have to ask, what do you want?”

Alwyn allowed a heartbeat to pass before speaking. No doubt wanting to say ‘your disappearance from Cymru’ but having to restrain himself.

“We have heard of you, King Arthur. You want to build a great kingdom, encompassing all of Albion. What we want is to know how Cymru fits into this great plan of yours.” His voice was carefully scrubbed of all condemnation or disdain. It made for a conspicuous absence.

For Arthur, it revealed the reason for their wariness: Cymru was worried about an invasion or takeover. Arthur considered their question in this light.

“You could be a model. We at Camelot have long practiced a total ban on all sorcery. My father condemned it evil, a tool for destruction. However, as we- as I- learn more about magic, the less that seems to be the case. We have a friend who came from your…nation long ago, from the time of King Emrys’ reign. Although he left very young, he remembers magic as being an accepted part of Cymru. A very helpful part, healing the sick, making heavy work light. We have listened to him, and are considering lifting the ban on magic. However, Camelot has no experience governing a magic-using populace. We thus turn to our seniors to see what they have to say. In this case, you are our senior.”  Arthur dipped his head to the assembly. Their stone faces broken, nerves ran as people whispered to each other. The surprise when Arthur had spoken Merlin’s old name had been palpable.  

Alwyn spoke quietly,                                     

“Luc, I do believe this is your ground.” He sat down. As he did so, perhaps the oldest man in the entire assemble stood from his chair in the front row. He looked to be in his late 60s or early 70s. He chuckled.

“I do believe you might be right. Young King,” There was a jest; his eyes briefly laughed, “Your friend seems to be many years out of the loop.” Arthur conceded with a nod.  “Since Emrys’ deposition, we have gone through a number of governments. This parliament is only the latest; we hope the last.  Magic, although encouraged at the beginning, later tolerated, has been outlawed for a number of years. In our unstable state, we thought it best not to attract the attention of vehemently anti-magic kingdoms near us.” Luc raised an eyebrow at Arthur here, thankfully far less fearsome the Gauis’. “If you are, however, sincere in your interest for governing magic, we have managed to preserve some volumes of the old laws.”

“That would be excellent, thank you,” Arthur said, eager to begin.

“First,” Someone, a younger man, spoke, “We must fine tune the details of our agreement. We can give you access to our information, but I for one would like to see some firmer plans in place for the relationship between our countries moving forward. Signed plans.” Treaties. Bloody hell, Arthur was going to have to do politics first.

 

……

They walked into a tavern, attached to an inn. Gwaine strode towards the counter with Merlin a step behind. Merlin intended to let Gwaine do all the talking to lessen the chance of anyone recognizing him. Alright, so maybe he had never really gone into the streets as king so no one would know what his voice sounded like. Even if he sounded the same as when he was a kid. Even if they could identify through the years between then and now.

Maybe it just made him feel a little safer to allow Gwaine first.

Merlin promised himself he would speak at least once to a person while he was here.

“Round of beers, my money” Gwaine said with a grin, plonking down at a table that three other men had already claimed. They didn’t object to free beer.

…..

Merlin had to admit, Gwaine was slightly brilliant, if in a cracked way. The beer was good, although Merlin personally found it a bit a difficult to stomach at the moment. The men at the table, Lleu, Maelon, and Niclas, talked loudly and energetically, switching quickly from one subject to the next. Briefly, they touched on Merlin’s reign.

“Terrible king.”

“Absolutely awful.”

“The worst.”

“  ‘Suppose he didn’t know better.”

“Eh.”

That was that. There wasn’t any particular anger to their words. It felt more like they disliked him simply because they always had, and they had no reason to stop now. The past was too distant to harm the present.

Merlin had moved on, but he felt a jolt of surprise that his country had, too. He had imagined that the people he had hurt would have retained more anger over that hurt.

A small curl of anger, that this forgotten hurt had killed his sister, was quickly squashed. Merlin didn’t need that in his life.  

…..

The next day, Merlin, Gwaine, and Arthur visited Lynne’s grave. The first hour Arthur and Gwaine wandered around, leaving Merlin alone to talk to his sister.

“I’m sorry,” He said immediately. More than anything else, she needed to know that. “I never wanted to hurt anyone. I’m…better, now.” He described his life, the people he had met, the things he had done. He described the world, and how he hoped it was changing for the better.  “You’re not forgotten, I promise. Thank you, for everything you did”

Arthur and Gwaine payed their respects, and everyone got ready to return to Camelot. Apparently, Arthur had been permitted to borrow a few books of old Cymru laws, which he was eager to foist on Gwen and Gauis. However much Merlin and Gwaine reminded him that they would just make him read them anyway.

Arthur being Arthur, looked at them both like they were stupid.

“I’m the king,” He said, like that explained everything.  Gwaine jumped in front of him doing a sweeping bow.

“Your Highness! May I be so honored-“

“Oh shut it,” Arthur said, not even letting him finish the mockery, “We have work to do in Camelot.” Gwaine smirked, walking on ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, quick notice. So I decided to use the Welsh name for Wales for Merlin's home country, since Emrys is a Welsh name, and then gave all the Cymru character's welsh names, which makes Helena and Jason something of odd one's out. So, to provide some consistency to this mess, when I post the next the chapter, I'm also going to be going back and changing all the Helena's I can find Lynne to and all the Jason's to Jac. (Actually, looking over the internet provided list of Welsh names, about 80% + of the king Arthurian characters have Welsh names. Which really shouldn't surprise me since I read a history of the king Arthur myth, and it's origins are as a Welsh story)


	4. Gone

Gwen thought as she walked. She had finished The Meeting, the first of its kind, and now it was time to take stock.

The Meeting had been with around ten middle aged laborers that lived on the outskirts of Camelot. The purpose of the meeting had been simple: discuss people’s experiences with sorcerers. Air their thought, opinions, feelings, and fears. Of course, it would have been a mite difficult to explain why the Queen was interested in their opinions sorcery, so Gwen had convened The Meeting with the pretext as a conference to talk about general concerns, with one of many questions being how they felt about sorcery.  Gwen intended to make use of their feedback on the other questions, too, but the raison d’etre of The Meeting was putting out feelers for exact concerns about sorcery.

Unsurprisingly, people had different views about sorcery.  Most, seven of the ten, had no personal experiences with sorcery but regarded it as dangerous. Two of the ten had vaguely positive remarks, eventually admitting they had seen a sort of hedge witch for minor remedies. One blamed sorcery for a crops failure he had one year.

Gwen thought she could work with this. The majority, with no personal ill experiences with magic, seemed cautious but open to learning about other people’s experience, even if it was positive. They could learn to live with magic. The man who lost his crops was stouter in his opposition, but today hadn’t been a persuasion campaign, only a chance to talk about experiences.

Now…

Now was the difficult part. Now she had to talk to the nobles, or at least the people with power in the land.

Which was always fun.

……

 

As queen, in the absence of the king, it shouldn’t have been hard to edit a law. There weren’t exactly many (any) who had the authority to overrule her decision, after all.

However, life provided other laws than just those written on paper. In this case, Gwen wanted to pass a an edit on the down low, which meant very few people knowing the law was changed. Which meant the few people who knew had to be fully on board, so they didn’t go spreading it around. 

It didn’t help that it the edit was a large one. She abolished the death penalty on the anti-magic law. It had taken some convincing, but no longer would Merlin be in danger of execution if his magic was discovered.

Magic remained illegal, but this gave everyone a little wiggle room until they could change that.

And today Arthur returned with Gwaine and Merlin.  Gwen hurried out so she could meet them at the gates before they arrived.

It was a sunny, spring day.

Gwen waited, and as she waited, she talked to people. Some of it was small talk, some of it was news, and some of it business.

By the time Arthur (who was at the front of the group) came into sight, it looked like the court had re located itself to the gates of Camelot.

“Arthur!” Gwen called, stepping forward, out of the mass, “Merlin! Gwaine! How did it go?”

Arthur leapt off his horse once he was semi near. He smiled, kissing her lightly on the mouth.

“About as well as we could have hoped,” He said, before turning to the people. He waved, all merriment.

“Well,” Gwen said as Gwaine and Merlin drew closer from behind Arthur, “Shall we go inside?”

…..

Arthur handed Gwen a book.

“It’s one of the old law books from Cymru,” he explained.

“Thank god. I’ve edited the anti-magic law so that magic is no longer punished  by the death penalty but I don’t know nearly enough to go making huge changes.”

“Merlin will help with that of course, since he’ll be heading this particular reform,” Arthur said.

“I’m, you’re, what?” Merlin stuttered, looking from Gwen to Arthur. Arthur shrugged.

“We’re changing the laws obviously. We need someone with some practical magical knowledge for people to turn to. And there’s no one we trust more than you for that.”

Gwen ran her hands over the volume. She looked up to Merlin, meeting his eyes with a smile.

“Things are changing in Camelot.  We don’t know _where_ we’re going, but by god we’re going. I hope you’re ready.”

Merlin smiled, slow and shy.

“Yeah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's a wrap! Honestly, this fic felt less like a story to me and more like the just playing out the revelations of the prequel to there natural conclusion, but anywho. Here's my idea of the natural conclusion for the prequel! Thanks to everyone for the support, it's the reason this fic exists. Now the only question is, what next?


End file.
